CORONATION Street’s Catherine Tyldesley has revealed a brutal ‘fat-shaming’ comment from a director that has stayed with her years later.
The 42-year-old returned to the ITV soap as Eva Price earlier this year, much to fans’ delight.
Throughout her career, Catherine has been open about her previous battles with her weight in her younger years, and in a new interview, she has recalled a horrible comment she received at an audition.
She said: “I remember going to an audition and the director saying to me, ‘Kath, you’re hilarious – you’re always going to be the fat funny one. You’re a character actress.’
“I loved comedy, but I also wanted to be a leading lady. That comment stayed with me.”
Ever the professional, Catherine didn’t reveal who said it to her, but it is something that she has never forgotten.
Now a mum-of-two, the star admitted her attitude to weight loss had changed, and her focus is now more about being healthy.
Speaking to Dr Jonquille Chantrey on the AgeLess podcast, she said: “It’s no longer about weight loss for me, it’s about health.
“I want to be on this planet for as long as possible for my children. I want stamina. I want to feel strong.”
Catherine certainly looked fantastic during her recent cover shoot for The Sun’s Fabulous magazine.
In the accompanying interview, Catherine opened up about the pressure she used to put on herself regarding her weight.
Aged 18, she weighed almost 15st and was a size 22 and she spent years losing the excess weight.
She said: “I remember in my younger years, I felt a lot of pressure to look a certain way, as a lot of actresses did, and I would crash-diet.
“Whereas, now, I’m older and wiser, I know what my body needs and I respect it a lot more than I did then.
“I am very much at that point in life where I train hard, I eat well, I treat myself occasionally, I work hard – this is where I’m supposed to be,” she says.
“I’m not going to force my body to go in a different direction. I’m not going to live on diets, because that makes me miserable.”
